Plan shuts prison sites

Cuomo administration targets two women's facilities near New York City; 7 closed so far

By Alysia Santo

Published 10:18 pm, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Brian Fischer, commissioner New York State Department of Correctional Service and Community Supervision, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Brian Fischer, commissioner New York State Department of Correctional Service and Community Supervision, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times ... more

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Donn Rowe, president New York State Correctional Officers, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Donn Rowe, president New York State Correctional Officers, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Plan shuts prison sites

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ALBANY — The proposed shutdown of two downstate prisons for women, Bayview in Manhattan and Beacon in Dutchess County, would bring the total number of prisons closed by the Cuomo administration to nine.

Combined, the two women's facilities have 432 beds. Bayview, a medium-security prison, is already empty after being evacuated due to Superstorm Sandy; it's located in Chelsea on prime real estate, with views of the Hudson River.

The proposal, part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget package, drew criticism that female inmates, many of whom are from New York City, will lose touch with family members if moved to facilities upstate.

"You're forcing people to go further from home, fracturing those already fractured relationships," said Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, during Wednesday's Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Public Protection.

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Asked about reinvesting savings into a transportation program to facilitate visits, DOCCS Commission Brian Fischer said he would prefer to use the money to expand "video visiting," calling it the "next step ... for getting families and inmates to visit each other with more ease."

The closures will not result in the firing of any correction officers, according to Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi, and will result in a savings of $80 million over the next two years.

"New York state taxpayers simply cannot afford for the state to treat our prison system like a job program when we have one of the lowest crime rates in the nation and far fewer inmates in our correctional system," said Azzopardi in a statement.